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The Great War weakened Europe, and in many ways, World War II grew out of issues left unsolved by that earlier war. Specifically, political and economic unreliability in Germany, and resentment over the harsh terms given by the Versailles Treaty, powered the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.
Info and photo from History Channel

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Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany. The year 1932 had seen Hitler’s rise to fame in Germany, motivated by the German people’s frustration with the dim economy and the still-festering wounds due to defeat in the Great War and the hard peace terms of the Versailles treaty. A charismatic speaker, Hitler carried popular discontent with the post-war government into support for his Nazi party. In an election held in July 1932, the Nazis won 230 governmental seats; together with the Communists, the next largest party, they made up over half of the Reichstag.
Info from History Channel
Photo from PBS

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September 15, 1935 jews are stripped of their rights

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September 15, 1935 jews are stripped of their rights

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Within the first year of Hitler’s rule, German Jews were excluded from public office journalism, radio, theater, film, and teaching, and even farming. The professions of law and medicine were also banned for Jews. “Jews Not Welcome” signs were on shop and hotel windows, beer gardens, and other public arenas.
Info from History Channel
Photo from Facing History

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September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west

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September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west

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Germany invaded Poland to get back the territory they lost and to rule them. Germany invading Poland was the start of how Hitler planned to continue the war. Two days after, France and Britain declared war on Germany and started the Second World War.
Info from History Channel
Photo from The Nation

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The military’s presence in Texas grew during World War II. There were 142 major military installations across the state, and more than 750,000 Texans served in uniform during the war. Some rose to the highest levels of command, including Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Col. Oveta Culp Hobby. Thirty-three Texans earned the Medal of Honor, including Audie Murphy, the army’s most decorated soldier, and Cmdr. Samuel Dealey, the war’s most highly decorated naval officer. Among the Medal of Honor holders were five of Latino descent. Tragically, more than 22,000 Texans gave their lives while in service during the war.

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September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east

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September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east

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Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact.
Info from History Channel

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April 9, 1940, Germany invaded Norway and occupied Denmark

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April 9, 1940, Germany invaded Norway and occupied Denmark

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On April 9, 1940, German warships enter major Norwegian ports, from Narvik to Oslo, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities.
Info from History Channel

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May 10, Germany swept through Belgium and the Netherlands which became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war

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May 10, Germany swept through Belgium and the Netherlands which became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war

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Three days later, Hitler’s troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French forces at Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line, an elaborate chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered an impenetrable defensive barrier.
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June 10, Italy declares war against France and Britain

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June 10, Italy declares war against France and Britain

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The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk in late May, while in the south French forces mounted a doomed resistance. With France on the verge of collapse, Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler, the Pact of Steel
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a new government formed by Marshal Philippe Petain  requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and the other under Petain’s government, installed at Vichy France.
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German planes bombed Britain extensively beginning in September 1940 until May 1941, known as the Blitz, including night raids on London and other industrial centers that caused heavy civilian casualties and damage.
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On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. 

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On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. 

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Though Soviet tanks and aircraft greatly outnumbered the Germans’, Russian aviation technology was largely obsolete, and the impact of the surprise invasion helped Germans get within 200 miles of Moscow by mid-July. Arguments between Hitler and his commanders delayed the next German advance until October, when it was stalled by a Soviet counteroffensive and the onset of harsh winter weather.
Info from History Channel

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On July 10, 1940, the Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins.

After the occupation of France by Germany, Britain knew it was only a matter of time before the Axis power turned their sights across the Channel.
Info from History Channel

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December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii,

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December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii,

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taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops. The attack on Pearl Harbor served to unify American public opinion in favor of entering World War II.
Info from History Channel

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December 8 Congress declared war on Japan

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December 8 Congress declared war on Japan

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On December 8, as America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan.

Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a Marine captain, FDR walked haltingly into the House of Representatives at noon to request a declaration of war from the House and address the nation via radio.
Info from History Channel

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After a long string of Japanese victories, the U.S. Pacific Fleet won the Battle of Midway in June 1942

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After a long string of Japanese victories, the U.S. Pacific Fleet won the Battle of Midway in June 1942

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US and Japanese naval forces engaged in a five-day battle in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that changed the course of the war in the Pacific. Top Image: Last minutes on damaged USS Yorktown (CV-5). Midway Islands
Info from History Channel

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August 1942 to February 1943, helping turn the tide further in the Pacific.

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August 1942 to February 1943, helping turn the tide further in the Pacific.

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In mid-1943, Allied naval forces began an aggressive counterattack against Japan, involving a series of amphibious assaults on key Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. This “island-hopping” strategy proved successful, and Allied forces moved closer to their ultimate goal of invading the mainland Japan.
Info from History Channel

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British and American forces had defeated the Italians and Germans by 1943.

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British and American forces had defeated the Italians and Germans by 1943.

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An Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy followed, and Mussolini’s government fell in July 1943, though Allied fighting against the Germans in Italy would continue until 1945.
Info from History Channel

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On the Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive launched in November 1942 ended the bloody Battle of Stalingrad

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On the Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive launched in November 1942 ended the bloody Battle of Stalingrad

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had seen some of the fiercest combat of World War II. The approach of winter, along with dwindling food and medical supplies, spelled the end for German troops there, and the last of them surrendered on January 31, 1943.
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On June 6, 1944–celebrated as “D-Day”–the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing 156,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France

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On June 6, 1944–celebrated as “D-Day”–the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing 156,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France

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In response, Hitler poured all the remaining strength of his army into Western Europe, ensuring Germany’s defeat in the east. Soviet troops soon advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, while Hitler gathered his forces to drive the Americans and British back from Germany in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945), the last major German offensive of the war.
Info from History Channel

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An intensive aerial bombardment in February 1945

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An intensive aerial bombardment in February 1945

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preceded the Allied land invasion of Germany, and by the time Germany formally surrendered on May 8, Soviet forces had occupied much of the country.
Info from History Channel

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Hitler dies of suicide on April 30 in his berlin bunker

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Hitler dies of suicide on April 30 in his berlin bunker

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On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich. Since at least 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany would fold under the pressure of the Allied forces.
Info and photo from History Channel

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May 8, 1945 Victory in Europe (V.E.) Day is celebrated 

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May 8, 1945 Victory in Europe (V.E.) Day is celebrated 

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On May 8, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine during World War II.
Info from History Channel

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September 2, 1945 Us General, Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender

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September 2, 1945 Us General, Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender

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Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.

By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and the intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated.
Info from History Channel